All About (Liberal) Me

Published on by D. G. Hart

It doesn’t get much better for one of Machen’s warrior children to be lumped with folks who provoke combat but never fight:

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that three men have been standouts in the volume of Baylyblog posts warning against them: Tom (N. T.) Wright, Darryl Hart, and Tim Keller. Each of these men has shown himself adept at drawing away disciples after him who will join in his rebellion against crucial parts of Biblical faith. Tom Wright denies God’s Creation Order, Darryl Hart denies the Church’s calling to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all creation, and Tim Keller denies the Biblical doctrines of sexuality, Creation, and Hell.

The most striking thing about these men is their abuse of language…

All three write to the end that their readers and listeners will pride themselves over being among the chosen ones smart enough to appreciate their deep insights: “What erudition!” “What command of the language!” “What rapier wit!” Truth set to the side, flattery is a writer’s best friend. A man’s chest swells with pride as he tastes Tom, Darryl, and Tim’s dainty morsels, but their flattery of their readers carries a stiff price.

That noise you hear is Kathy Keller cackling.

53 thoughts on “All About (Liberal) Me”

  1. DGH,

    What does it mean that I’ve really enjoyed (and own) all the books in the “Christian Origins” series by N.T. Wright, go to a church plant of Redeemer, and comment occasionally on OL?

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  2. The Baylys post is going to make Kathy’s B.S. Detector go off like a smoke alarm at a Cigar Aficionado convention.

    Not sure if anyone in NYC pays attention to anything someone in Bloomington writes, though.

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  4. “A man’s chest swells with pride as he tastes Tom, Darryl, and Tim’s dainty morsels.”

    Harlequin called to ask if Tim Bayly had any interest in writing for their gay-themed series.

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  6. To be fair, 2/3 of the criticism BB levied is correct.

    Those are Hall of Fame numbers in almost any sport.

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  8. Clearnote Pastors College. Is that like, Most Northwesterly Point Idaho Women Teachers College? Or is that giving too much credit?

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  9. Silly us thinking two-kingdoms is within the stream of orthodoxy. I guess we’ll have to stop drawing naive sheep away from the Bible with our purely philosophical and obviously deceptive writings.

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  10. If I were to cite a single thing that makes NT Wright poison, it would be his redefining the gospel and justification, not his egalitarianism. But that’s just silly me being a Protestant.

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  11. Well, if this is about rapier wit, we’ve all been editing ourselves for public consumption. We can turn this up to 11 and make their ears bleed. We can take our ephedrine caffeine stack mix in some vodka(our Cali contingent can do what they do) and we can really turn this mother out.

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  13. Bayly caught me. I’m just here for those dainty morsels!

    Actually is there anyone that Baylys would commend? I seem to remember that they spoke positively of Joe Sobran. Notably, Sobran was a nominal Catholic, but an ardent social conservative.

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  15. Bobby – Actually is there anyone that Baylys would commend?

    Erik – VDM, Rabbi Bret, Dr. K, Doug Wilson, DTM, and maybe Tom Van Dyke would make up their dream team roster. Probably the entire Christan Renewal editorial board as well.

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  19. D.G. should invite Bayly to write a guest post on Pope Francis. Presumably Bayly is willing to overlook RC doctrinal errors for the sake of embracing their pro life and anti-gay stances. What happens when a Pope is minimizing these aspects of Catholicism? Inquiring minds want to know.

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  20. Meanwhile Pope Francis, clearly feeling his oats, chides Europe for being “elderly and haggard”. France called and has demanded an apology.

    http://online.wsj.com/articles/pope-says-europe-needs-new-sense-of-purpose-1416915190

    By DEBORAH BALL
    Nov. 25, 2014 6:33 a.m. ET

    STRASBOURG, France—Pope Francis called for Europe to find a new sense of purpose, describing the Continent as “elderly and haggard” as it struggles with high youth unemployment, waves of migrants from strife-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East and conflict on its eastern borders.

    The pope made the remarks Tuesday in an address to the European Parliament, the first pontifical visit to the body since a 1988 trip by St. John Paul II. In his address, Pope Francis—the first non-European pope in centuries—touched on the crisis of confidence afflicting a region struggling to forge a new economic and social model in the wake of a debilitating downturn.

    “We encounter a general impression of weariness and aging, of a Europe that is now a ‘grandmother,’ no longer fertile and vibrant,” the pope told European lawmakers.

    ‘Men and women risk being reduced to mere cogs in a machine that treats them as items of consumption to be exploited.’

    He underscored the discontent in many quarters with European Union institutions that have often failed to solve the region’s malaise. “The great ideas that once inspired Europe seem to have lost their attraction, only to be replaced by the bureaucratic technicalities of its institutions,” he said.

    The pope warned that the EU has strayed from the principles of “peace and fellowship” that inspired its founders after World War II, citing the region’s treatment of migrants, soaring youth unemployment rates and “uncontrolled consumerism.”

    “Men and women risk being reduced to mere cogs in a machine that treats them as items of consumption to be exploited,” he said. “How can hope in the future be restored so that, beginning with the younger generation, there can be a rediscovery of that confidence needed to pursue the great ideal of a united and peaceful Europe?”

    The Argentine-born pope has made opposition to unfettered capitalism a hallmark of his papacy, a message that could resonate among Europeans torn between much-cherished social-welfare models and the need to make their economies more flexible and competitive globally.

    Pope Francis has frequently denounced a “throwaway culture” that he views as a frequent product of a free-market economic model, resulting in the abandonment of the elderly, a lost generation of unemployed young people and disparagement of the poor.

    “The time has come to promote policies that create employment” by “joining market flexibility with the need for stability and security” for workers, he said.

    The visit to Strasbourg is the pope’s fifth trip abroad and only his second European trip outside Italy. Pope Francis has so far favored the emerging world in the choice of his trips, while his first European foray was to Albania, a small, Muslim-majority country that is among the poorest in Europe.

    The pope’s harshest words were for Europe’s immigration policy. Pope Francis’ first trip after being elected pope last year was to Lampedusa, the tiny Italian island that been overwhelmed by tens of thousands of boat people arriving from Africa. So far this year, more than 3,000 migrants have died attempting to reach Italian shores in rickety boats.

    Meanwhile, European leaders—often buffeted by strong anti-immigrant popular sentiment—have struggled to assemble a robust, unified response. Anti-immigrant riots have erupted in recent days in Rome’s poor peripheral neighborhoods.

    “We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery,” the pope said, warning that Europe’s failure to integrate immigrants risks contributing to slave labor and continuing social tensions. He joined the call, advanced by some center-left European parties, for European governments to do more to help resolve the poverty and strife in the Middle East and Africa that drives many to flee to Europe.

    The pope also addressed the persecution of religious minorities, particularly Christians, around the world. The problem will be a major theme of a visit to Turkey that the pope will begin on Friday. Turkey is the fourth Muslim-majority country the pope will have visited, but it is by far the biggest. Moreover, it is Pope Francis’ first voyage to a Muslim country since the surge in violence this summer against Christians in Iraq and Syria.

    The Vatican has issued tough calls for Muslim leaders to do more to denounce the violence by Islamic fundamentalists—a call the pope appeared to renew during his remarks Tuesday.

    “Communities and individuals today find themselves subjected to barbaric acts of violence,” the pope said. “They are evicted from their homes and native lands, sold as slaves, killed, beheaded, crucified or burned alive, under the shameful and complicit silence of so many.”

    Tuesday’s visit was the shortest papal trip on record, at just under four hours, which is characteristic of a 77-year-old pope who has appeared somewhat reluctant to travel and keeps his trips very short. The visit was unusual in that it had no pastoral purpose; the pontiff declined an invitation by local Catholic leaders to visit Strasbourg’s cathedral.

    The pope’s visit encountered scant protest, unlike the 1988 visit by John Paul II, who was interrupted by hecklers. One French far-left member of Parliament said in an open letter to Pope Francis that he would have preferred that the pontiff hold Mass in the Strasbourg cathedral “rather than having a platform in the Parliament.”

    —Frances Robinson contributed to this article.

    Write to Deborah Ball at deborah.ball@wsj.com

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  21. Erik, but is Francis anti-gay or just trying to (slowly and without over-turning the apple cart) move to the equivalent of the compassionate-conservative position?

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  23. “One French far-left member of Parliament said in an open letter to Pope Francis that he would have preferred that the pontiff hold Mass in the Strasbourg cathedral “rather than having a platform in the Parliament.”

    Well, somehow( I know how, they weren’t there) the trads thought that a Latin American Jesuit wasn’t a liberation theologian. I wonder if they’ve adjusted on that score, yet? Po po Burke, raising funds for the Malta charity.

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  26. For Baylys patriarchy is the end all be all of their blog. If you disagree ever so slightly you deny the Gospel according to them because they can somehow show the logic conclusion of being an egalitarian. ‘You wives to not submit to husbands?’ ‘Ergo you deny the Gospel!’ Such unquestionable logic. Pathetic.

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  27. @Trent

    From my observation, it strikes me that patriarchy is the end-all and be-all of their faith, not just their blog.

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  28. If what you say about the Baylys and patriarchy is true, that would be odd since Jesus was neither a husband nor a father. If patriarchy is the warp & woof of Christianity you would think our Savior would have lived like Joseph Smith or Brigham Young to set an example for his followers.

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  30. Patriarchy is a case where people, many of whom are probably initially well meaning, have taken a valid biblical notion and built it into something far out of proportion to that which it is presented in Scripture. Paul approaches male headship as practical advice for those seeking to marry and have a family. When people abstract that from what it is and seek to have it serve as an overarching motif by which to evaluate all of life, politics, the Church, and Scripture it becomes something grotesque. Other men buy into this and end up shipwrecking either their marriage, their family, their ministry, or their faith. It becomes an idol and the end is where idolatry so often ends — in wreckage.

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  31. Exhibit A – Doug Phillips

    Exhibit B – Bill Gothard

    Exhibit C – Marc Driscoll

    Exhibit D – (Insert name of man you know personally who is now divorced & estranged from his kids)

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  32. In many ways, the Bishop of Bloomington is something akin to a Boomer variant of Gothard. I’m not suggesting that he’s about to engage in some kind of sexual impropriety, just that he’s elevated some limited set of practical principles to Gospel status.

    I had a few interactions with the man while I was a grad student at IU-Bloomington. I’m 5’5″ and weigh about 120 pounds. On one occasion when I ran across him, he launched into a bizarre discursus about the difficulties that short men face in fulfilling their responsibilities to rule over their wives. He noted that, in his view, marriages work better when the husband’s physical stature provides a physical reminder to his wife of her godly duty to be obedient to him. The guy is just bizarre.

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  34. In other news, at a Thanksgiving get-together my mom gave me a couple of recent issues of “New Horizons”.

    I see that John Murray’s widow, Valerie, died in August. She was 87. Murray died back in 1975. He must have been quite a bit older than her.

    I also see that longtime Westminster librarian Grace Mullen died in July. I suspect that Darryl knew her.

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  35. I’m afraid that developing larger calves would not bode well for my running times.

    Maybe that’s my problem. I enjoy effeminate activities like running, cycling, yoga, and swimming.

    When I read Baylyblog, I sometimes have difficulty distinguishing its theology from something like a Canaanite fertility cult. That was certainly true for Phillips. Hey, but fertility cults apparently make the best coonskin caps.

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  36. Bobby – Maybe that’s my problem. I enjoy effeminate activities like running, cycling, yoga, and swimming.

    Erik – Similar to the Baylys except they enjoy Saber Tooth Tiger Hunting, Shark Fishing, Woolly Mammoth Riding, and Skinny Jean Wearing Worship Music Jamming.

    Yeah, I know, one doesn’t quite fit.

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  38. Does anyone here know how Gordon-Conwell could produce both the Bayly Brothers and Tim Keller? Maybe Kathy Keller’s b-s detector prevented her from enrolling at GCTS.

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  39. Erik – Maybe if you go through one of those courses to build up your calves so you can dunk God will forgive you.

    I got that brochure when i was 13 and was soon dunking thereafter until I was 46.

    Then again, being 6’6″ might have been a bit of a head start.

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  40. Always disturbing when men who rail on endlessly against gay rights use terms like “dainty” or “churlish”

    Seems like a big latent denial mechanism to me…

    I double that perception when I hear one of them preach…

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  42. Erik, grew up with a neighbourhood park offering 9 foot rims, very important for becoming a Vanilla Thunder

    the thing they don’t tell you is that you are basically hitting the wall with your hand/wrist/arm/head when you dunk, takes about 1,000 hard contacts to develop the toughness to take it to a real game

    but there is nothing like it in sports to take your opponent to the rim and slam it off his head after throwing it down

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  43. @Bobby

    I agree.
    Now with regard to the Bishop of Bloomington, I find that extremely offensive. I am shorter than you, but I know for a fact I could knock the lights out of the Bishop and would have fun doing it.

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  44. Careful, Trent. The Bishop has mad skills, even if he is ___ pounds over his fighting weight. Plus, he knows people skilled in the use of the axe for nefarious purposes.

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  46. Bobby, re Canaanite fertility cult, brilliant. They help show that Catholicism doesn’t have a monopoly on Christian syncretism.

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  47. Erik, that’s how it goes down in the playground.

    One classmate had horrendous acne all over his face and back. During games in home whites about 80 zits would pop and the blood would show through all over the jersey. This was before Ewing and G’Town introduced t-shirts underneath…

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  49. @Trent

    Take Eric’s advice seriously. They nurture some serious axe-wielding skills in the Bishop’s neck of the woods.

    By the way, does it make one effeminate to have been caught vandalizing Planned Parenthood in a style indistinguishable from that used by Carrie Nation?

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  52. @Erik

    I took a look at the Clearnote website. I guessed in advance that it was the kind of place there the pastors’ photos probably included their wives. Bingo.

    These guys’ notion of marriage and family owes more to Freud than it does to Paul.

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  53. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for these conversations:

    Two weeks ago I attended the Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church pastors conference where Federal Vision theology had its origin a decade ago. The speakers included Auburn Avenue’s pastor, Steve Wilkins, as well as Doug Wilson, Ken Myers, Peter Leithart, and Jim Jordan. Peter and I talked a couple of times.

    Jim Jordan’s topic was “good death” and he told us if Adam and Eve had passed their probation God would have allowed them to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He spoke of Adam and Eve breeding “like rabbits,” saying this would have filled the Garden of Eden with so many descendants…

    that death would have been necessary. Otherwise “we would have been up to our eyebrows in ten years.”

    Jim went on to say that “each member of the Trinity humbles Himself in the presence of the other members of the Trinity.” “Jesus says ‘the spirit is better than I am’.” Also, “none of the members of the Trinity calls attention to Himself. The father doesn’t do things for his own glory.”

    After the Tuesday afternoon Q&A session, Ken Myers and I were discussing music in worship and the subject of Michal’s anger at David’s worship came up. Jim Jordan had joined us a minute of two earlier and he agreed with Ken that Michal was right and David was wrong. Jim said Michal had been jacked around by David for many years; that David had taken her from her husband and now he was showing off in front of all the young women of Israel, so Michal was right to oppose him.

    If we played the old Don Imus game, “Who Doesn’t Belong and Why?” would the obvious answer be Ken Myers?

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